Duncan Bannatyne Quotes

[As a high school student] Wherever I went, I felt like a misfit.
Duncan Bannatyne

I noticed that most of the kids at the high school had bikes and, as the only kid without one, I felt incredibly left out.
Duncan Bannatyne

[On building his own paper delivery route by cold calling on 150 houses to get 100 names as a young high school student] I guess I learned early that business and opportunity aren’t handed to you on a plate and that you have to make your own chances.
Duncan Bannatyne

There are only three ways of getting out of a contract with the armed services: you can either die, get so badly injured that you can’t perform your duties, or misbehave so badly that they throw you out. Guess which one I preferred?
Duncan Bannatyne

At the age of 30, I was a penniless beach bum. At the age of 37, I was a millionaire. I honestly believe that anyone – absolutely anyone – can do exactly what I did and turn their life around; you just need to wake up to the possibilities that are all around you and make a decision to change your life.
Duncan Bannatyne

I left school at 15 without any qualifications. At 19, I was dishonourably discharged from the Royal Navy. For the next ten years I made ends meet with a series of dead-end jobs… until I found myself sitting on a beach one day wondering where I was headed.
Duncan Bannatyne

I had just read a piece in a newspaper about a guy who had started a business from scratch and had made his first million. His name was Alan Sugar. As I sat on that beach, I decided that this was my wake-up call. I was going to do exactly what this Alan Sugar had done: I was going to change my life and make myself a million.
Duncan Bannatyne

For all those people who don’t fit into Human Resources pigeon holes – too young, too old, not enough experience, over-qualified, criminal record – working for yourself is the most enjoyable and lucrative option if you want a meaningful career.
Duncan Bannatyne

For everyone who finds themselves in jobs where they spend most of their day watching the clock in return for a modest way, then becoming an entrepreneur means an end to low pay, and low esteem. It might also make you very rich.
Duncan Bannatyne

Most successful entrepreneurs start a series of businesses before they start the one that makes them wealthy.
Duncan Bannatyne

It is possible to get rich in a very short space of time, but it’s usually a fluke and not something you can properly teach.
Duncan Bannatyne

I got the impression that entrepreneurs were seen as troublemakers by the establishment.
Duncan Bannatyne

I’ve found that most entrepreneurs fall into one of two camps: those who build up a business and can’t imagine ever doing anything else because they love it so much, and those who ambition is to create so much value in a business that they can then either pay someone else to run it for them or sell it for a lot of money.
Duncan Bannatyne

When I started in business, I didn’t have any money, any useful contacts or a track record. All I did was work hard to stockpile a bit of cash, look around for opportunities and reach for the Yellow Pages when I needed a phone number…
Duncan Bannatyne

I started my first business with 450 pounds, and when I sold it for 28,000 pounds a few years later I had already started on my next one. I sold my second business for 46 million pounds.
Duncan Bannatyne

There is a myth that starting a business costs a lot of money. Some businesses do, but most entrepreneurs I know invested less than 10,000 pounds in their first venture…
Duncan Bannatyne

If you can start your first business on a shoestring, you build up credibility with banks and investors for your next venture.
Duncan Bannatyne

Starting a business is such a massive commitment that it’s very difficult to do it without the support of those closest to you.
Duncan Bannatyne

You very rarely go from starting your first business to becoming incredibly wealthy in just a few years. Most entrepreneurs started a series of businesses – some of which will have flopped – before they started the one that made them a fortune.
Duncan Bannatyne